United draw strength from past exploits

Sir Alex Ferguson is confident Manchester United FC will cope with the expected absence of Wayne Rooney when they take on FC Bayern München in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday. Louis van Gaal believes likewise, as he looked ahead to defending a 2-1 lead in front of a full house at Old Trafford.

The opportunity of playing at Old Trafford knowing you need a goal to take control is a great incentive

Sir Alex Ferguson

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Are they favourites? Yes. They have lots of experience of winning games at home and we know what they can do

Louis van Gaal

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Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United managerWayne won't make it. I'm not prepared to take a risk with a player who isn't 100% fit. I don't think he will be on the bench although he might talk me into it, it's a difficult one. We have had two bad results [against Bayern and Chelsea]. You have to recover and we can do that with a good team performance. The opportunity of playing at Old Trafford knowing you need a goal to take control is a great incentive. We turned it around against Roma a few years ago after being down in the first leg ... a once-in-a-lifetime performance. I think that Roma side are probably equal to this Bayern side in terms of ability.

I have a great respect for Louis van Gaal. His teams always play football and they are also technically developed. Franck Ribéry and Arjen Robben are great, talented players, but we can't worry too much about their threat without thinking first about our own threat. The away goal we got in Germany could make a difference. As for the result, I'll be happy at 1-0.

Louis van Gaal, Bayern coachNaturally, we have a lot of self-belief. But we know Manchester United are a top team. Are they favourites? Yes. They have lots of experience of winning games at home and we know what they can do. They got an away goal and we have quite a young team, but we have a chance. We expect the atmosphere will be super; it's always the same in England. It's also a sporting atmosphere which I find fantastic.

I am jealous of the structure that Manchester United have in their defence and throughout their team in general. Yes, they have conceded some single goals, but then they have scored three or four. They have players who can decide a game, that's what makes the difference. But we also have players who can make that difference. We have played without Franck Ribéry for most of this season and we have done well. If Manchester United play without Wayne Rooney, they will still be very strong.

• United's hopes of an unprecedented fourth successive English title were hit by a defeat that allowed Chelsea to leapfrog them at the summit.

• Coupled with the Bayern game, United suffered their first back-to-back losses in over a year.

03/04/10 FC Schalke 04 1-2 Bayern(Kuranyi 31; Ribéry 25, Müller 26)

• Thomas Müller's first goal since February proved decisive as Bayern replaced Schalke at the top of the Bundesliga. Hamit Altıntop was shown a second yellow card on 41 minutes. Schalke's Marcelo Bordon also saw red just before the final whistle.

Background• Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville were in the United team that famously defeated Bayern in the 1999 final while Brown was an unused substitute.

• United have mounted a successful fightback only once after a first-leg defeat in the UEFA Champions League. That came in the 7-1 defeat of Roma in the 2006/07 quarter-finals after a 2-1 loss in Italy.

• They have lost on five other occasions, however, including against Bayern in 2000/01 when the Bavarians went on to win the competition.

Team Ties• Dimitar Berbatov appeared alongside Bayern goalkeeper Hans-Jörg Butt in the Bayer 04 Leverkusen side that overcame United in the 2001/02 UEFA Champions League semi-finals.

Did you know?• Sir Alex enjoyed a memorable success with Aberdeen FC against Bayern in the 1982/83 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup quarter-finals, winning 3-2 at Pittodrie after a goalless draw in Germany. Aberdeen went on to win the trophy.

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